Anyone who has ever made cold calls or managed an inside sales team knows these infamous words from prospects: Who are you and where are you calling from again? This is likely the first type of objection immediately after you have introduced yourself to a prospect over the phone. The best thing to do is always be prepared to answer this question quickly, with confidence, and without hesitation. The question is, though: How do you create that perfect what we do statement for your team?
Within the first 30 seconds of a cold call, you’ve introduced yourself to your prospect and you have most likely confirmed that they are the most appropriate person to whom you should be speaking regarding the pain points that your product or service addresses. Once you’ve done that, odds are that they have inquired more about your company. The key is, you want to give them enough to strike some interest, but you don’t want to give them too much where they have the option to hang up on you and throw out the “I’m not interested” objection right away. Your goal in creating a what we do statement is to guide your prospect down the path leading to probing questions and qualification questions. This will allow you to further explore their environment so you can reach your ultimate goal of deciphering whether or not your product or service can help them, and if it makes sense to take the next step in the sales process.
So here it is, my “to do” list when it comes to creating the perfect what we do statement:
Make it quick. Keep the statement to 2 sentences, max.
Be succinct. Get to the point with a crisp, clear message that doesn’t allow for the prospect to be confused.
Eliminate weak words. Remove words like "hoping," "wishing," "wanting," "kind of," and "sort of" when it comes to actually delivering the message. I cringe when I hear these words and I immediately hang up. They scream uncertainty and demonstrate a lack of confidence.
Leave your ego at the door. Do not boast about you or your company in this statement. It is extremely off-putting and quite frankly, prospects don’t care – they care about their environment and how you can help them. Discussing awards and other accolades can come later on in the conversation once you have peaked their interest.
Follow up with a transition question. Avoid that long, awkward pause after you have delivered the statement. It gives your prospect the chance to throw out an objection. Instead, take a quick pause and follow up with an open-ended transition question that will lead the prospect into talking about their existing environment.
From working with clients and from receiving cold calls from prospects directly, it’s interesting to hear what companies believe their what we do statement should be. I’m not saying there has to be a right or wrong answer here, but I do believe that there are some key do's and don’ts when it comes to creating the right statement for your business. What is your what we do statement, and is it leading to the number of opportunities you are striving towards?
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